Click photo to play
Length: 9:24
JOHN KING (voice-over):
Covering the story is dangerous enough, without
nearly becoming the story.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These men
intercepted my vehicle, and, with grenades with the
pins pulled, so that they were live, hauled me from
the car, and, with my own video camera, are preparing
to film my execution.
KING: The story he lived to tell -- his unequaled
view of the war he sees up close every day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: At least 17 people were killed and dozens
wounded today in attacks across Baghdad -- the
deadliest, a bombing at a pet market in the center of
the city.
CNN's Michael Ware, of course, has been covering the
war since it began, and has watched the city spin out
of control. In September 2004, on Baghdad's Haifa
Street, U.S. troops were battling supporters of Ayman
al-Zarqawi, former leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. They
captured a Bradley Fighting Vehicle during the
battle. You can see them cheering on top of it in
this photo.
When Michael heard that al Qaeda in Iraq had claimed
the area as its own, even plastering its banners on
the street, he went there to see for himself. And
that's when he was caught by al Qaeda insurgents.
Michael was in New York this week. And Anderson
talked to him about that terrifying day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Al Qaeda in Iraq had
actually put its banners on a street in Baghdad, in
central Baghdad.
WARE: Yes, they did.
And this was a symbolic passing of power here in the
center of the capital. These men intercepted my
vehicle, and with grenades with the pins pulled so
that they were live, hauled me from the car, and,
with my own video camera, are preparing to film my
execution.
So, as far as we're aware, after that day on Haifa
Street, I'm the only Westerner that we know of who's
been in the control of Zarqawi's organization, al
Qaeda, and to have lived to tell the tale.
COOPER: How did you get out of there?
WARE: Essentially, it was the nationalist insurgents
who saved me.
Now, these two groups don't share the same agenda.
The nationalists just want to free their country. The
Islamists, al Qaeda is fighting -- for them, like the
U.S. administration, Iraq is just one field of a
global battle.
I was saved by the Iraqi insurgents. I mean, I
benefited from the difference between these two
elements of the war.
COOPER: So, you were -- you were in a vehicle, and
they -- they pulled you out?
WARE: I was in a vehicle with a mid-ranking Iraqi
insurgent commander, who told me of Zarqawi's
takeover, essentially complained about it. And I
said, well, I need to see this.
So, he took me in there to show me that, "these
radicals, these foreign Islamists, have taken our
territory."
When the foreign radical Islamists, essentially, who
became al Qaeda, dragged me from the car, this man
was left to negotiate for my life. And this is where
we see the difference come into play.
The Zarqawi fighters wanted to execute the Westerner.
As they said: "You bring a Westerner in here, and you
expect us to let him leave alive? Well, no, it
doesn't work like that."
So, even though these Islamists at that time had the
upper hand in Haifa Street, they couldn't discount
the local fighters. And, essentially, it came down to
the local Iraqi insurgents saying: "OK, you can kill
this foreigner, but know that that means we go to
war, because he has come here at our invitation. And
for you to kill him is essentially an insult to us."
And, as much as these foreign fighters wanted to kill
me, at the end of the day they knew that,
practically, they couldn't, because they could not
afford to have this local fight. And it was through
gritted teeth that they essentially gave me back to
the Iraqi insurgents, who then took me out.
COOPER: What was that feeling like, when you realized
you were going to live?
WARE: It took a long time before it actually dawned
on me.
I spent many of the following days in my room. I
found it very difficult to leave the safety and
comfort of my bedroom. It took some time for me to
regather myself and to return to the streets. But, in
fact, just days later, I did return to this very
place.
COOPER: You went back to Haifa Street?
WARE: I went back to Haifa Street.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Chilling account.
Just ahead: more from Anderson's interview with
Michael Ware, including why Michael believes Iran is
in Iraq.
Plus: what some are calling a legal outrage, a
teenager sentenced to 10 years in prison. Wait until
you hear what he did -- when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: As we reported earlier, President Bush today
publicly endorsed the killing of Iranian agents in
Iraq. To understand why those agents are there in the
first place, keep in mind that Iran is a Shia Muslim
nation that saw a giant opportunity when U.S. forces
invaded nearly four years ago.
Here's part two now of Anderson's interview with
CNN's Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: How did Iran get involved?
WARE: Iran has been involved from the very, very
beginning.
Don't forget, you know, Iran and Iraq share a land
border. There's many tribes and families that that
live on both sides of this border. In the '80s,
Saddam launched a vicious eight-year war against
Iran. So, Iran very much has legitimate national
security interests in terms of Iraq. And we have seen
Iran aggressively pursue those interests.
What happened during the invasion, as U.S. and
British forces advanced from Kuwait to the north,
clearing Saddam's forces as they went, we saw
essentially an Iranian-backed invasion at the same
time that filled the vacuum that was left behind. It
was extremely well-organized and coordinated. And, in
fact, the irony is we saw Iran use the very same
successful tactic that the American Green Berets used
in Afghanistan to win against the Taliban and al
Qaeda, against U.S. interests in Iraq.
COOPER: You mean covert forces...
WARE: Very much.
COOPER: ... small numbers.
WARE: During Saddam's regime, hundreds of thousands
of Iraqi Shia fled to Iran. Iran saw many of these
people not only as brethren and refugees to be
protected, but as an asset.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of these Iraqi
Shia who were in Iran were mobilized and used by the
Iranians within its armed forces. So, what we saw
during the invasion of 2003, as American and British
forces advanced, these Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia
forces entered the country from the east, along the
northern, central and southern access.
And what they did is, in the chaos and the vacuum of
power that was left behind the advancing coalition
forces, they took power. They took the governor's
office, the police chief's office, the Baath Party
headquarters. And they never really left.
COOPER: And they have given the militias of, like,
for instance, Muqtada al-Sadr, they have given them
training; they have given them arms and money?
WARE: Yeah.
What we saw with many of these networks and these
organizations that were in Iran is that they were
kept in place and they moved into Iraq. And with them
came what's essentially Iranian Green Beret advisers.
You had Iranian form of CIA advisers all come in with
them to guide, direct, to channel them. And even
elements within Iraq, like Muqtada al-Sadr, the rebel
anti-American cleric, and his Mahdi army militia,
Muqtada and his militia were very different to these
others.
They never fled Iraq. They didn't go into Iran. They
remained in Iraq. Now, in the beginning, that was a
great rallying cry for Muqtada. He was able to
represent himself as a true nationalist: "I stayed,
while these people left. I suffered with you."
That was very persuasive. That drew a lot of people
to his cause. But, over time, we have seen Iran not
only court Muqtada, but, then, militarily, support
him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Michael this weekend making his way back to
Baghdad.